#34

"It's Krys and Moonglow!" Patty called into the Castle.
The kids were quick to abandon their consoles. The sprites were spread out inside, making piles of the ingredients Violet and Dismal needed.
"Are Stormy and Brian with them?" Lala asked as they gathered at the door.
With tears in her eyes, Patty said, No, they're alone..." Buddy gently patted ehr shoulder, and she turned to press her face into his chest.
Tickled Pink slipped outside. "I'll go up to the Colour Cave and tell Red and Twink," she said, then turned and ran down the brick road.
On-X touched down, and everyone gathered around. Canary and Lala took the guns and went inside to give them to Violet and Dismal. Moonglow delicately stepped down off of On-X, and Krys dropped down after her.
"What happened?" Indigo asked.
"They stopped the creature, but..." Moonglow trailed off.
Krys pulled off his helmet. "They were taken."
"Taken?" the kids cried in shock.
"On-X picked up the traces of a dimensional rift. There's no telling where in the Universe they are."
"What are we going to do?" Patty cried helplessly.
"Violet could look for them with her telescope!" Buddy said.
"I'd be looking for years. Besides, I don't think my telescope can pick up individual lifeforms on a faraway planet's surface," Violet said as she came outside with the others.
"We have to trust this to Rainbow," Moonglow said softly. She didn't look too well, and Krys slipped an arm around her for support.
"Let's get you inside."
Tickled Pink returned with Red and Twink just as Krys went into the Castle with Moonglow. Buddy filled them in on what had happened. Twink looked up at Red. "Do you think she got the message?"
"Of course she did. And if she hasn't yet, she will," he said with conviction. He turned to Violet and Dismal. "How much of that stuff have you made?"
Violet grinned. "Enough to stop the poison here in Rainbowland."
"What effect do you think that stuff would have on the creatures?"
She pondered, then shrugged. "Maybe it'd neutralize the poison they carry. Maybe nothing."
"Or maybe it'd just make them mad," Dismal said with a frown.
"Try it. Keep the gloom gun handy just in case." He turned to the others. "Let's get back to making more of it. Twink and I will keep the star sprinkles coming."

#33

"Look at that!" Moonglow cried. She pointed down at the Earth's surface, at a large mound positioned on the edge of the poisoned area. As they drew closer, they were able to see that it was more than just a mound.
"It's the creature," Krys said quietly. "They succeeded..."
"But where are they?"
They glanced at each other, then they both began scouring the area for some clue as to where Stormy and Brian had gone.
"Oh, no..." Moonglow pointed to a spot not far from the creature. There in the dirt were the two gloom guns.
On-X landed and Moonglow slipped down to retrieve them. "Something's happened to them," Krys said. "Something bad."
As Moonglow climbed back on, On-X spoke up with his broken voice. "Atmosphere...dis-urbance...dete-te-tected."
Krys frowned. "What kind of disturbance?"
"Break in...dimensional boundary."
Both riders gained anxious expressions. Moonglow hugged the guns to her chest while Krys looked around. "Whatever's doing this," he said softly, "may have just taken them."
"Let's get out of here. There's...nothing we can do right now." She looked down with shame at those words.
Krys sighed, but urged On-X up into the sky. "You're right. We need to get the guns back. Rainbow's their only hope now."
Moonglow closed her eyes tightly and rested her forehead against his shoulder. Once they were off of the surface, she handed the guns over to Krys. "This won't take long."
With On-X hovering in place, Moonglow began the mental process of encoding a message in the stars.

Rainbow reached out to Starlight's neck. "Are you alright, old friend?"
His ears twitched back, head lifting up proudly. "All the dimensions in the Universe could not tire me. Just keep the rainbow steady, and I will keep running."
She smiled gently, but his words seemed to bring something to Alpha's mind. "How is it you've sustained the rainbow so long? You hardly use the star sprinkles at all now."
She glanced back wtih a sly grin. "I've a friend who specializes in making the stars brighter."
His brows lifted. "Astral reserves?"
"I guess you could call them that," she said with a laugh.
"Rainbow..."
She turned forward again. "What is it, Starlight?"
"That star, there," he said while motioning off to the side with his muzzle.
She watched as the star winked irregularly. "It...I think it's a message!"

"Erng..."
"Are you alright, Stormy?"
She slowly sat up, and was quickly aware that her surroundings were moving. She was in some sort of cage...
"Best not to move too much..." Brian was positioned a short ways from her, in another hanging cage. "I'd say don't look down, but, well-"
She did just that, and stifled a scream as she instinctively grabbed the bars of the cage. They were hanging, alright. A good three hundred feet up in the air, overlooking some sort of ravine. The closest solid land was fifty feet up, thirty feet over. They were thoroughly suspended.
"Yeah, I knew you'd look."
She turned towards him, fear etched across her face. There was fear in Brian's, too, but not as strong. "Skydancer?"
"Haven't seen him. Or heard him, which likely means he's no where near here," he said. "Any idea where we are?"
She slowly looked around, but shook her head. "It looks like a hundred thousand other worlds... How are we going to get out of this one?"
"Rainbow will come," Brian said with conviction.
Stormy glance at him again with a frown. "Brian..."
"She will, Stormy. You can't give up on her already. She always pulls through."
"Just because she's got a belt and some pretty rocks doesn't mean she's invincible!"
"That's not why, Stormy."
She blinked, looking at him with a furrowed brow.
"She won't fail because of her heart, not because she's Rainbow Brite. I think..." He grabbed one of the bars and looked off to the side. "I think she became Rainbow Brite because of her heart. She's strong, and smart, and filled with love and compassion. She doesn't get discouraged, even when all the odds are against her, even when it seems like there's no hope to be had. The worse things get, the more determined she becomes. She doesn't give up. Only the ones that give up get defeated."
Stormy listened silently to his words. When he finished, tears had begun to fall down her cheeks. "You're right. I gave up on her... I- I should have believed in her. I was wrong."
He looked at her compassionately. "For both our sakes," he said quietly, "I really hope so."

#32

"Are there others like me?" Rainbow asked Alpha as Starlight continued his tireless run across dimensions.
"There are other protectors of teh Universe," he replied carefully. "But none of them are like you."
"What do you mean?"
"He means you're better than the rest of them," Omi piped up.
"How?"
"Because you're Rainbow Brite," he said, matter-of-factly.
"I don't-"
"You will, in time," Alpha said reassuringly.
"I just feel like everything would make sense, and I'd know exactly what to do, if I could just understand what you were both talking about."
"Because you would," Omi said as he looked up at her.
Alpha knocked a knuckle against his head. "Quiet, Omi."
"He's right, though, isn't he?"
He sighed softly and rested his hands on her shoulders. "He is."
"Then explain it to her," Starlight said with agitation.
"I could, but that would not gurantee her understanding. It will be better for her to come into the knowledge on her own."
She sighed, her eyes drifting shut. "What if I never understand?"
"You will," Alpha said.
"You have to," said Omi.

Lala sat back from the console in the Castle. "It's not spreading as fast. They must have gotten it."
Patty stepped in from the doorway. "Shouldn't they have been back by now?"
Red leaned back in his chair. "Brian still had his two-way, didn't he?"
"There's no answer." Canary pulled the base's headphones down around her neck.
Krys hopped down off of the stairs. "I'll go search for them."
"I'll go with you," Moonglow said as she made her way over.
"You sure?"
She nodded. "I want to try to get a message to Rainbow through the stars. She'd probably feel better knowing the creatures have been stopped."
"Alright. Come on." They headed outside to where On-X stood on stand-by.

Upstairs, Violet and Dismal were bent over a table. The surface was covered with a patch of soil and grass from outside. Only half of it remained, from tried and failed experiments.
"Cross your fingers," Dismal said as he poured a bit of the poisoned earth onto a corner of the remaining grass. The poison began to spread, killing the grass one blade at a time. Violet held out a spray bottle filled with the latest experiment. She squirted some of the solution onto the poisoned earth, making sure to get all of it. They then stood back and watched. Nothing happened. The grass didn't grow back, but as they watched, they noticed that nothing more had died, either.
Violet let out a whoop of triumph. "Ha! It stopped!" She moved around to the other end of the table. "Do you think it could prevent the poison altogether?"
"Only one way to find out," Dismal said as he followed her around to the fresh grass.
She sprayed the solution over a patch of the grass, giving it a healthy dose, just in case. After a moment, Dismal poured more of the poisoned earth onto the grass. And nothing happened.
"We've done it!" Violet cried.
Dismal didn't look so sure. "It buys us time. But it doesn't fix things."
Violet frowned and looked over at him. "You're right...But fixing things isn't our job. Buying time is. Now come on, we ned to make a ton of this stuff, and fast." She looked over at IQ, who'd been helping them the whole time. "Go tell the others we came up with something." She handed it a list. "Tell them we need as much of these ingredients as they can get. Tell them this is priority over everything else!"

#31

Brian walked slowly through the deserted streets of Rainbowland. Everyone was working hard, with whatever they could find to do. Stormy's words were still echoing about in his head, a glum look unconsciously on his face. He carried with him the two gloom guns. Things on Earth couldn't wait for...whatever they were waiting for. He came around one of the little houses, and found what he was looking for.
Stormy sat on a bench, Skydancer grazing nearby. She looked, simply put, miserable. Her cheeks were flushed, as though she'd been crying. Seeing her like that, all of the built-up anger and frustration melted from Brian's face. He made his way over to her, and held out one of the gloom guns.
"We should get to work."
Stormy looked up as he approached, looking at the gun as he spoke. With a sigh, she took it and got up to her feet. "Right."
When they reached Earth, they both gasped. The once-blue waters were beginning to blacken along the shores, which were nearly all barren of vegitation and colour.
Stormy guided Skydancer over the skies, looking for the creature responsible. "I wonder what they'll attribute that to."
Brian looked down at the surface with despair. "Pollution, most likely." He pointed down, inland from the sea. "There, is that it?"
Below them was indeed the creature, walking lazily along the surface. "It would seem so," Stormy said. She guided Skydancer down and they both readied their gloom guns. "Rainbow said it has a hammer, so keep your eyes peeled."
When they'd gotten as low as they dared, they let loose the gloom. Skydancer did as his name suggested, dancing through the sky to avoid the creature's thrashing, and that hammer. It didn't fight back for long, though, as the gloom settled around it. Slowly, it sat down, then slumped over.
They emptied the cannisters of gloom over the creature, then Stormy altered the weather in the vicinity, blocking out the wind and rain and anything else that might wash away the gloom.
"Hopefully that will hold until we come back to do it again," Stormy said.
"You won't be coming back."
Skydancer whirled around to face the new voice, but it was too late. The last thing they'd see was a figure, just visible in the shadows of dying trees, before a heavy darkness overtook them. In the next moment, they'd disappeared, leaving behind only the gloom guns.

#30

"You're sure we have to stop here?" Rainbow asked Alpha, glancing back over her shoulder at him. Before them stretched the surface of a dark, desolate world, much like the surface of the world they'd just come from. Only this time, the few openings inside that Rainbow could see were pitch, empty, no secret world tucked away. it looked lonely, and most of all uninhabited.
"Is there even anything here?" Starlight asked as he stepped off of the rainbow and onto the surface.
"I assure you both that something of great importance lies here," he said as he rested a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "Waiting for you."
She blushed slightly and looked forward again, coughing to try to regain her composure. "Yes, well, shall we try to find it, then?"
Alpha nodded, and Starlight began to walk forward.
"You said you made the belt," Rainbow said as she looked around for some clue to something she didn't know anything about.
"That's right," he replied, glancing at her a moment.
"Can you tell me...who the voice was that brought me to it? And to Rainbowland? The Light..."
"I'm afraid that I can't. You will one day come to understand, though. That, I will tell you."
She sighed softly and looked back at him, meeting his gaze. "Is everything with you just one big riddle?"
He smiled, a bit sheepishly, which came as a surprise, and laughed lightly. "I'm afraid so, Rainbow Brite."
She tilted her head slightly at him. "You can just call me 'Rainbow', you know."
He smiled a bit sadly. "Perhaps that is why."
"Why...?"
He hesitated in continuing, before suddenly turning his head to look out at one of the caves. "There. Go there."
Starlight flicked an ear back, but waited for a nudge from Rainbow's knee before actually heading that way. "There aren't any crabs here, are there? Or giant lizard men, or robots, or anything?"
"No, nothing like that. We've already passed the defenses."
"Defenses?" Rainbow asked curiously. "How?"
"Because of me. I'm the only one authorized to come here."
"Authorized?" It was Starlight's turn. "You make it sound like you're some great, top secret, military experiment."
"We're no great experiment...but to fall into the hands of the wrong person, the hands of anyone but Rainbow Brite, would spell disaster for much of the Universe."
"We?" Rainbow frowned. She was beginning to feel like a parrot. "Is it a person we've come for? Someone like you?"
"Not exactly like me, but, yes, you've got the general idea."
While they were talking, a stone whizzed through the air and smacked Starlight inthe neck. Any other horse would have gone running, but Starlight only shook his mane out and glanced into the darkness of the cave. "I thought you said we were already past the defenses."
Before Alpha could answer, another rock came flying. "Rainbow!" Starlight shouted as he tried to back out of the way. But he was big, and the cave had grown tight.
She saw it, but had no time to duck or block it. However, a pale hand appeared in front of her face, catching the golfball sized stone.
"That's enough!" Alpha cried out into the shadows. "Stop this now, Omi!"
"No!" shouted someone in the darkness. "Go away!" Another rock smashed into the wall just beside Starlight's nose.
"Omi, it's me, Alpha! Cut this out!"
"I know who it is! Go away!" Rainbow shouted as a rock smacked into her knee, hand quickly covering the spot.
"What's the meaning of this, Omi?!"
Starlight finally managed to retreat behind a corner. he looked back at Rainbow. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She frowned as another rock hit the wall just past their defenses. "He's a child..."
"I won't go with you! I don't want to!"
"Omi, this is the Rainbow Brite!"
"I KNOW what she is! But SHE doesn't even know! I won't go with her!"
Rainbow frowned and glanced back at Alpha. "I don't know what?"
He smiled sadly to her, but didn't answer, instead calling out to Omi, who was still sending rocks out at them. "She needs us, Omi! She'll remember, I promise!"
"You can't know that! I won't go, I won't be used again!"
"Used?" Rainbow was thoroughly confused by now. Finally, she just shook her head and put the confusing things behind her. Right now, that wasn't important. She swung her leg up over Starlight's head and dropped down from his back.
"Rainbow??" Starlight looked at her with worry, but she just patted his nose.
"Stay put."
"Rainbow Brite, you shouldn't..."
"Alpha, please. I have to," she said with conviction. She stepped around the corner, and it didn't take long for the first rock to strike her. She winced as it hit her shoulder. "Omi, I'm not sure who you are; I don't even know who Alpha is. I don't know why I'm out here, what I'm looking for, or what I'm supposed to be stopping." Another stone hit her in the chest, right under the collar, but she didn't stop. She even took a few steps forward. "But I do know something. I know that the people I'm supposed to protect, and my home, with the people who depend on me, are all in danger. I know that whatever is doing this has something against me - against Rainbow Brite. I have to stop it, no matter what. But I know I can't stop it alone. I know I need Alpha's help, and he says I need you, too."
"No!" A rock hit her right in the face, just under her eye. She stumbled back a couple of steps and fell to one knee, hand lifted over the wound. A trickle of blood fell through her fingers, falling to her knee. But she didn't stop.
"I also know...that I would never use someone. I can only ask that you help, not for my sake, but for the sake of my home, and the Earth, and the rest of the Universe. Please...for their sake. Help me."
There was silence, and no more rocks were throw. A minute passed, and slowly, a small boy dressed in black stepped out of the shadows. He carried a slingshot in one hand, but she almost didn't notice that. Instead, her eyes were drawn to his ears - or where his ears were supposed to be. Instead, there peeking out of a head of thick, raven hair, was a pair of pitch wings, the feathers thin and delicate to match his hair. The tips nearly came down to his shoulders. If he had ears, they were hidden under the hair, or behind the wings.
"You won't use me?" he asked quietly. Tears streaked his face, and he sniffled ebtween his words.
She quickly shook her head and smiled warmly to him. "Never."
He relaxed, and reached out to touch her cheek where the rock had hit her. "I'm sorry."
Her smile grew. "That's alright."
Before she could do anything about it, he threw his arms around her neck. She laughed lightly and hugged him close. "I'll take good care of you, I promise."
Starlight stepped over to them, and Rainbow stood up. "Can we go home now?" he asked as he dipped his head down. Alpha reached down and helped Rianbow up onto Starlight in front of him.
"I believe so," she said. She reached down and lifted Omi up in front of her, keeping her arms protectively around him.
"Good. The more dimensions we put between this place and us the better." With that he took off at a canter, weaving his way back out of the cave and into the sky.

#29

"Do you think she got to where she needed to go?" Brian asked Krys a few hours after Orin had left. They still couldn't decide just what to do about the poison, even with all of Krys' strong words. None of them were brave enough to approach the fallen bird, and Krys finally announced that it was too dangerous for them to go anywhere near it. Murky and Violet were the only ones that went anywhere near it, and only to replenish the gloom keeping it at bay.
Krys nodded with complete confidence. "Of course she did. She's Rainbow Brite." That always seemed to settle everything, though by the look on both Krys' and Brian's faces, it was clear they weren't so sure it was enough this time.
"Don't forget that Starlight's the one looking after her. He'll make sure she gets where she's going, and in one piece," Canary said as she brought over a tray of lemon-ade. Lurky was over by the other kids, handing out more glasses.
Brian smiled, though faintly, and nodded. They wanted to believe...but she'd been gone a long time, with no word of any sort of progress. Orin hadn't seen her for some time, so there was no guarantee she was still safe.
Murky and Violet walked into the castle, gloom guns in hand. "Still no word?" Violet asked Lala, who'd taken a turn sitting at the base.
"Nothing," she said glumly, lemon-ade held between her hands on her knees.
"I'm sure we'll hear something soon," Violet said reassuringly.
Quite suddenly, Red let out a frustrated shout, standing abruptly on the stairs. "Arg! I can't stand being so helpless! We were made to protect the Earth and everything else, and yet we can't do anything?!"
"Because you're wrong," came a voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look, and saw Stormy sitting on an empty, overturned bucket.
"What do you mean I'm wrong?" Red asked with no little hint of anger.
She paid it no mind, leaned back against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest and one knee was perched on the other. "We were made not to protect, but to help the Wearer of the Belt protect. She could not exist without us, but we cannot function without her. The Earth falls into despair without a Rainbow Brite. The Ice Age, the Black Plauge, and Seven Year Famine, the World Wars. And now, the 'greatest drought the world has ever known.'"
"Don't say that," Brian said sharply, causing everyone to look at him instead. He was too angry to be embarassed, though, and just glared at Stormy. "You say it like she's already dead. Well, she's not!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Stormy!" Canary cried in shock.
"Oh, don't. Just don't, Canary. She's farther away than she's ever been, alone, trying to find something that no one even knows the identity of, exactly. Meanwhile, the Earth is drying up and will crumble apart any day now. And then what happens? What happens to us when the Earth dies? Even if we kept on living, our own world's due to crumble as well."
"Stop it!"
"We can't just sit here waiting for someone that's never coming back!"
"She will!"
"She can't save us anymore!"
"Stormy, stop it!" Canary pleaded, hands held up tight over her heart.
"Just what are we supposed to do, then?" Lala asked in disgust, none of the kids liking the least bit what Stormy was saying.
"Look for a new Rainbow Brite," she said simply.
Everyone gasped, and even Dismal and Lurky looked horrified.
"No," Red said firmly, which returned the attention to him. "That is not our place, Stormy. We have never looked for a Rainbow Brite. She has always come to us. And until the Belt is returned to us without its Wearer, there can be no new Rainbow Brite. Until that Belt finds its way back here in some way, we have to assume our Rainbow still lives, and is still fighting for us."
Stormy scowled at Red, who met her gaze with cool confidence. When others started to look at her again, she pushed herself to her feet and stalked out the door. She vaulted up onto Skydancer's back and they took off into the sky. Once she was asfely tucked away in the clouds, she let Skydancer stop. Slowly, tears filled her eyes, and finally a few leaked out. She ducked forward, her face buried in Skydancer's mane to hide the tears.

#28

"Tell me, Rainbow Brite, what is your name?"
Her brow furrowed and she turned her attention back to him. "What do you mean? My name is Rain-"
"No, my dear. Rainbow Brite is your title. What is your name?" When she continued to frown at him, a sad look came over his face. "You cannot remember, can you? No wonder."
"No wonder?" she asked curiously. When he didn't answer, she shook her head and turned herself to face him. "Who are you?"
He suddenly looked worried as his gaze travelled to the pathway she'd fallen from. "You didn't come here alone, did you?"
"No...why?" Befoer he answered, a piercing whinny could be heard from that path. "Starlight!" She leapt to her feet, the blanket falling from around her shoulders. The young man was a step behind her. Just before she reached the water, she called forth a rainbow from the handful of starsprinkles she'd had in her pocket. It created a path from the island to that opening. Without hesitation, she ran up the rainbow, with the young man still following on her heels.
"What is it?!" she cried back at him.
"They're crystal crabs! They're the ones that made these paths, and they don't like anyone else in them!"
"Great..." she muttered to herself as she moved as quickly as she could through the path. Another stressed whinny and the obvious sounds of a struggle caused her to move faster. "Starlight!"
"Rainbow!"
"Run! Get out!" She sent the rainbow on ahead with the wish that it would clear a path for Starlight. And, as the rainbow always did as she asked, she could hear him running father down the path a few seconds later.
Not more than a minute later, the young man grabbed her arm and dragged her to a stop, pulling her behind one of the crystals jutting out into the path. "Keep quiet," he whispered into her ear. Slowly, and without a sound, he maneuvered her back into a corner and stood in front of her. He was facing her, one hand on either side of her shoulders, though he was looking over his shoulder.
She blushed rather deeply when she found herself in that position, but her attention was quickly drawn away as something scuttled down the path. It was huge, about half the size of Starlight, and looked to be a cross between a crab and a spider. It had two large, jagged claws, and fangs that dripped with what was most likely venom. Eight eyes were placed around its head, and its shell was made of the crystals in the caverns.
Her heart began to pound as it slipped past, followed by three others, one of which was dragging a bashed claw, most likely from the fight with Starlight. As the last one passed and got a ways down the path, the young man took her by the hand and picked up a run in the other direction, following Starlight.
She didn't see any blood on the way, so Rainbow began to breathe a little easier in the hope that Starlight was fine. As soon as they broke the surface, he let her hand go and they both slowed to a walk. Rainbow hunched over as she stopped, hands on her knees as she gasped for breath.
Starlight lumbered over to her, reaching his muzzle down and tucking it under her arm. "Are you alright?"
She lifted her arms up around his head, resting her cheek against his neck. "I'm alright. Are you?"
"I'll be fine." His eyes drifted open and he caught sight of the stranger. "Is that him?"
She slowly let go of his head and looked back at the young man. "I think so. Will you tell me who you are now?" she asked a little louder.
He simply smiled and approached them. "Only when you both tell me yours. Until then, you can call me Alpha."
"Then you really are the Beginning," Rainbow said softly.
"Yes, that's right. Now, I believe you have a problem, one that cannot afford any wasted time."
They both looked at him oddly, but Rainbow nodded. "That's right. I'll explain on the way." She swung up onto Starlight's back, and pulled Alpha up behind her.
"I'm afraid we can't go back to your home just yet. There is one place we must stop at first." Before they could protest, he insisted, "I assure you, it is of the utmost importance."
Rainbow glanced back at him with a frown, but turned back around as Starlight began to move. "If you say so. Just tell me the way." She called forth a rainbow, and Starlight took them up off of the world's surface.